Bottom dumping mating hopper doors sealing arrangement

ABSTRACT

A hopper car is provided with a pair of doors hingedly connected for swinging movement between open and closed positions. Distal edges of the doors are provided with a seal arrangement which includes flexible hairpin shaped seal elements having arcuate finger portions adapted to be placed in engaging sealing relation during the closed position of the doors. The seal elements are of the spring-like metal composition which include adjusting means whereby the finger portions may be relatively adjusted to guarantee effective sealing of the distal edges of the closure doors.

O United States Patent 1 1111 3,878,794 Adler 1 1 Apr. 22, 1975 [54]BOTTOM DUMPING MATING HOPPER 1,099,878 6/1914 Hopkins 105/424 DOORSSEALING ARRANGEMENT 1,882,186 10/1932 Hankins 105/280 2,602,402 7/1952Sanford. Jr. et a1. 105/424 X Inventor: anklin P- A e Michigan C ty.2.863.402 12/1958 Ford 105/424 1nd. 3.169.491 2/1965 Darlington et a1105/240 73 P 1 l 1 Asslgnee z h giz gz ggz if Primary E.\'aminerLloyd L.King Assistant Examiner-Howard Beltran [22] Filed: Apr. 24, 1974Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Richard J. Myers [21] Appl. No.: 463,706

[57] ABSTRACT {52] U 5 CI 105/250 105/280, l05/3O4 A hopper car isprovided with a pair of doors hingedly 105/424 connected for swingingmovement between open and [51] In 361d 7/l8 861d 7/22 361d 7/26 closedpositions. Distal edges of the doors are pro- [58] Fie'ld 'g'' {05/243 6240 280 vided with a seal arrangement which includes flexible 105/283 6hairpin shaped seal elements having arcuate finger portions adapted tobe placed in engaging sealing rela- [56] References Cited tion duringthe closed position of the doors. The seal elements are of thespring-like metal composition UNITED STATES T which include adjustingmeans whereby the finger por- 734.977 7/1903 Simonton 105/249 i s may berelatively adjusted to guarantee effective gf t sealing of the distaledges of the closure doors. "T1011 on 1.014.768 1/1912 Meissncr 105/2804 Claims, 3 Drawing gures 1 13 [Q n I BOTTOM DUMPING MATING HOPPER DOORSSEALING ARRANGEMENT CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION Patentapplication Ser. No. 415.098. Nov. 12. 1973. relating to a DoorOperating Mechanism discloses an arrangement to which the presentinvention is applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The presentinvention relates to railway hopper cars and more particularly to asealing arrangement for effectively sealing adjacent distal edges ofbottom dump closure doors.

2. Description of the Prior Art The prior art includes flexible sealingedges which are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 734.977. 7/28/03; 761.551)./31/04; 1.014.768. 1/16/12: 1.882.186. /11/32; 2.863.402. 12/9/58;3.169.491. 2/16/65. The prior art discloses various types of sealingarrangements for bottom dump hopper doors which include rubber seals.rigid seals. a combination of rigid and resilient seals. overlappingseals. etc. The sealing arrangements disclosed in the prior art areusually effective only for relatively short periods of time by reason ofthe type of use to which they are subjected. mainly extreme weatherconditions. Freezing temperatures are very deleterious to rubber typedevices and by reason of contraction and expansion of the doorsand metalparts and it has been very difficult to seal the edges of the doorsconsistently over long periods of time. The present arrangement providesfor a flexible adjustable seal which can readily be adjusted to assuresealing under all conditions and which will have long life free ofmaintenance under the conditions to which hopper ears are subjccted.

SUMMARY A pair of hinged bottom dump doors for opening and closing thedischarge opening of a hopper are provided at their distal edges withV-shaped sealing elements of flexible stainless steel construction. Theseals extend the full length of each of the hopper car doors and includean anchoring flange and a second adjustment flange which isinterconnected by means of anarcuate finger or curve portion. the saidcurve portions being engageable with each other when the doors are in aclosed position for securely sealing the hopper of the car. A relativelyflat anchoring bar is supportedby means of studs the length of theanchoring flange of the seal element and a second half-cylindricalshaped bar is supported by the studs externally of the adjustable ormovable flange ofthe V-shaped or hairpin shaped seal element. Thehalf-cylindrical bar is supported by the studs and adjustable nutsagainst the movable flange and by adjusting the nuts the flange may bemoved relatively inwardly and outwardly. thereby moving contacting edgesformed by the arcuate portions inwardly into sealing engagement. Bysimply adjusting a plurality of nuts along the length of the doors theseal elements are resiliently positioned in proper sealing engagementdespite variations which may result from weather conditions. etc. Theparts are preferably made of a stainless steel material so as toguarantee freedom of corrosion and result in long life.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross sectional viewthrough an open top railway hopper car which includes a pair of bottomdump doors; 7

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view ofa pair of bottom dump doorsshown in .FIG. I, the doors at their distal portions being each providedwith a resilient seal; and 1 FIG. 3 is a bottom view taken substantiallyalong the line 33 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now particularly toFIG. I. a hopper car 10 includes vertical side walls 11 and slope sheets12 which may include one or more hoppers provided at their lower endswith a discharge opening 13. The hoppers are also formed by a pluralityof end walls 13'. one of which is disclosed. The discharge opening 13 isadapted to be regulated by means of gravity drop closure doorsI-lhingedly connected as indicated at 15 to a door supporting structure 16.Each of the doors I4 includes an outer longitudinal beam 17. and innerZ- beams 18. as best shown in FIG. 2. The beams 17 and 18 are suitablyinterconnected by means of structural members (not described in detail)and include longitudinal bottom plates 21. The inner Z-beams includelower flanges 19 and upper flanges 20. the said flanges 20 providingdistal portions of the adjacent doors.

FIG. I also discloses a door opening and closing or actuating mechanismgenerally designated at 22. One of these is provided for each door. Theactuating mechanism. as more specifically described in the abovementioned application. includes pivoted arms 23 which are suitablyconnected to links 24 and in turn pivotally connected to the doors 14which in FIG. I are shown in the closed position. In this position thearms 23 and links 24 are in an over'center position. Asuitable springtype mechanism 25 assists the mechanism into its overcenter position.

The edgesof each of the doors is provided by a seal arrangement 26. asbest shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Each seal arrangement comprises a hairpinor V-shaped seal element 27 having an anchoring flange 28. The sealelements 27 and anchoring flange 28 extend substantially the length ofeach of the doors. as best shown in FIG. 2. The seal elements 27 alsoinclude second movable flanges 29 connected together integrally by meansof an arcuate relatively thin inner portion 30 which, as best shown inFIG. 2, provides arcuate surfaces in contact with each other during theclosed position of the door. The seal elements 27' are constructed of arelatively thin resilient sheet material such as stainless steel and thelike. having a high elasticity and an effective stiffness. The flange 29is provided with a plurality of apertures 31 through which threadedstuds 32 extend. As best shown in FIG. 2. the threaded studs 32 arerigidly secured by welding or other means at 33 to the distal portion ofthe flanges 20. The studs 32 extend through openings or apertures 34provided in the anchoring flanges 28. The flanges 28 are also rigidlyconnected to the flanges 20 by means of flat stainless steel bars 35provided with apertures 36 through which the studs 32 extend. Astainless steel washer 37 and nut 38 further solidly secure the flanges28 on the flanges 20. The flanges 29 of the seal elements 37 are adaptedto be moved laterally relative to the flanges 28 by means of half-roundbars 39 which extend the length of the doors as shown in FIG. 2 andwhich are held in position on the studs 32 which extend through theopenings 31 by means of stainless steel washers 41 and nuts 42.

THE OPERATION The general operation of the doors is in response to themovement of the door opening and closing actuating mechanism which maybe manual or may be accomplished by off car track camming elements whichare more specifically described in the aforementioned patentapplication. Once the doors are released. the weight of the materialwithin the hopper forces these doors downwardly to the open position.thus dumping the contents of the car. Subsequently. the door actuatingmechanism is effective to again close the doors.

As best shown in FIG. 2. the seal elements 27 include contact fingers orsurfaces 30 which provide for the effective sealing of the door edges.The fingers or contact elements 30 are resiliently in constantengagement with each other and are readily adjusted by tightening orloosening the nuts 42. By moving the half-round bars 39 upwardly thearcuate fingers or contact surfaces 30 are moved laterally together tocontinue to exert the inward thrust upon each other as they preferablyare in the most effective position. as shown in FIG. 2. However. byunloosening the nuts 42. the flanges 28 and 29 are moved relativelyapart. whereupon the contact surfaces 30 are moved further apart.Variations due to welding tolerances. weather shrinkage or expansion.etc.. which normally might keep some of the surfaces from effectivelysealing are eliminated by the simple adjustment of the nuts 42 which inturn causes adjustment of the half-round bars 39 so that the sealingedges can constantly be adjusted to be in relative biasing engagementwith each other. Since the parts are all made of stainless steel.corrosion is prevented and they are effectively conditioned for longterm service without any maintenance. Thus. it is readily apparent thatan effective sealing arrangement has been provided which sharplydistinguishes over all of the improvements in the prior art.

I claim:

1. A hopper car with a hopper including side walls having adjacent lowerportions thereof a discharge opening. a pair of doors supported on saidhopper for hinging movement about longitudinal axes for opening andclosing said discharge opening.

longitudinally extending distal portions on said door in said closedposition being in substantially contiguous relation.

the improvement comprising:

a sealing arrangement connected to said distal portions.

said sealing arrangement including first and second sealing elementsconnected to said distal portions of said doors.

at least one of said sealing elements being of generally hairpin shapedconfiguration including an anchoring flange connected to the distalportion of one of said doors.

said hairpin shaped first sealing element including a second resilientflange connected to said anchoring flange by a spring-like arcuatefinger.

said finger providing a first longitudinally extending contact surface.

a second contact surface on said second sealing element engageable withsaid first contact surface to seal said doors in a closed position. and

adjustable means engageable with said flanges to move the same relativeto each other whereby said finger and first contact surface is adjustedrelative to said second contact surface.

2. A hopper car with a hopper including side walls having adjacent lowerportions thereof a discharge opening. a pair of doors supported on saidhopper for hinging movement about longitudinal axes for opening andclosing said discharge opening.

longitudinally extending distal portions on said door in said closedposition being in substantially contiguous relation.

the improvement comprising:

a sealing arrangement connected to said distal portions.

said sealing arrangement including first and second resilient sealingelements connected to said distal portions. said sealing elementsincluding longitudinal contact surfaces engaging each other in sealingrelation in the closed position of said doors.

said first and second sealing elements being of hairpin shapedconfiguration. each including:

an anchoring first flange connected to said distal portions of saiddoors.

a second resiliently movable flange connected to said anchoring firstflange by a spring-like arcuate finger.

said fingers providing said first and second contact surfaces. and

adjustable means engageable with said movable second flanges for movingthe same toward and away from said anchoring first flanges therebymoving said contact surfaces laterally with respect to each other.

3. The invention in accordance with claim 2. said adjustable meanscomprising threaded studs connected to said first flanges and extendinglaterally between said first and second flanges. and

nuts on said studs engaging said second flanges to move the same.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 2. said second flange havingopenings through which said studs project and said nuts having arcuatesurfaces engaging outer portions of said second flange.

i= =l l

1. A hopper car with a hopper including side walls having adjacent lowerportions thereof a discharge opening, a pair of doors supported on saidhopper for hinging movement about longitudinal axes for opening andclosing said discharge opening, longitudinally extending distal portionson said door in said closed position being in substantially contiguousrelation, the improvement comprising: a sealing arrangement connected tosaid distal portions, said sealing arrangement including first andsecond sealing elements connected to said distal portions of said doors,at least one of said sealing elements being of generally hairpin shapedconfiguration including an anchoring flange connected to the distalportion of one of said doors, said hairpin shaped first sealing elementincluding a second resilient flange connected to said anchoring flangeby a spring-like arcuate finger, said finger providing a firstlongitudinally extending contact surface, a second contact surface onsaid second sealing element engageable with said first contact surfaceto seal said doors in a closed position, and adjustable means engageablewith said flanges to move the same relative to each other whereby saidfinger and first contact surface is adjusted relative to said secondcontact surface.
 1. A hopper car with a hopper including side wallshaving adjacent lower portions thereof a discharge opening, a pair ofdoors supported on said hopper for hinging movement about longitudinalaxes for opening and closing said discharge opening, longitudinallyextending distal portions on said door in said closed position being insubstantially contiguous relation, the improvement comprising: a sealingarrangement connected to said distal portions, said sealing arrangementincluding first and second sealing elements connected to said distalportions of said doors, at least one of said sealing elements being ofgenerally hairpin shaped configuration including an anchoring flangeconnected to the distal portion of one of said doors, said hairpinshaped first sealing element including a second resilient flangeconnected to said anchoring flange by a spring-like arcuate finger, saidfinger providing a first longitudinally extending contact surface, asecond contact surface on said second sealing element engageable withsaid first contact surface to seal said doors in a closed position, andadjustable means engageable with said flanges to move the same relativeto each other whereby said finger and first contact surface is adjustedrelative to said second contact surface.
 2. A hopper car with a hopperincluding side walls having adjacent lower portions thereof a dischargeopening, a pair of doors supported on said hopper for hinging movementabout longitudinal axes for opening and closing said discharge opening,longitudinally extending distal portions on said door in said closedposition being in substantially contiguous relation, the improvementcomprising: a sealing arrangement connected to said distal portions,said sealing arrangement including first and second resilient sealingelements connected to said distal portions, said sealing elementsincluding longitudinal contact surfaces engaging each other in sealingrelation in the closed position of said doors, said first and secondsealing elements being of hairpin shaped configuration, each including:an anchoring first flange connected to said distal portions of saiddoors, a second resiliently movable flange connected to said anchoringfirst flange by a spring-like arcuate finger, said fingers providingsaid first and second contact surfaces, and adjustable means engageablewith said movable second flanges for moving the same toward and awayfrom said anchoring first flanges thereby moving said contact surfaceslaterally with respect to each other.
 3. The invention in accordancewith claim 2, said adjustable means comprising threaded studs connectedto said first flanges and extending laterally between said first andsecond flanges, and nuts on said studs engaging said second flanges tomove the same.